When you think of Tennessee, a few key images come to mind: the Great Smoky Mountains, country music, whiskey. But until just a few years ago that reputation for spirits revolved solely around a few legal outfits -- and the lore of mountain-made moonshine.

Before 2009, the state had just three distilleries, located in the only three counties that allowed them. Famed Jack Daniel's has operated in Moore County since 1866, and George Dickel in Coffee County since 1870. Prichard's legally opened its doors in Lincoln County more than 100 years later in 1997 (the first since Prohibition) after pulling a special license.

Four years ago, some 40 more counties became eligible for micro-distilleries, thanks to new state legislation. Since then, craft distillers have opened across the state. Together they form a Tennessee Whiskey Trail with tours and tastings so good you'll trade your stemware in for Mason jars in no time.

"We make really unusual spirits," co-owner Darek Bell says of the more than 20 offerings by Corsair Artisan Distillery. Varieties include Ryemageddon aged whiskey and Pumpkin Spice Moonshine. Corsair also experiments with different base grains like quinoa. "Because we have Jack Daniel's in our back yard we didn't want to be a 'me too' brand," Bell says. "We wanted to be a unique brand."

Bell and childhood friend Andrew Webber began as beer and wine homebrewers. They thought whiskey would be a satisfying career choice, and they founded Corsair together in 2009. The move was a good one; their whiskeys have been widely praised.

Tours include a walk through the distillery before hitting the tasting room for a flight of five spirits. A taproom across the hall serves food and craft beer.

Corsair also operates a distiller across the state line in Bowling Green, Ky. Tours at that facility (400 E. Main Ave.; 270-904-2021) are given on Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

When it comes to moonshine there isn't a bigger Appalachian legend than Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, who was facing an 18- to 24-month sentence in prison for tax evasion for his legendary "likker" in 2009. Four days before he was to report to prison, Sutton, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, committed suicide in a truck outside his Cocke County home. He was 62.

Popcorn had hopes of making his operation legal. Before he died he teamed with former professional supercross racer Jamey Grosser, who was intent on honoring the man as much as his moonshine. "He didn't want this piece of history to die with him," Grosser says. "Popcorn always said his whiskey was too damn good to be in a Mason jar."

At the Nashville distillery, the Popcorn-designed stills produce smooth, unaged, white whiskey from corn malt and sugar. Popcorn showed Grosser the process, and wrote down the recipe for him the night before he died.

"We have the distillery, but we also have the legacy of modern-day folk hero Popcorn Sutton and this lost American art form," Grosser says. "But we keep the process of how we bake the cake very close to our hearts."

Prichard's history goes back to 1822 when Benjamin Prichard died and left his pots, stills and recipes to his son Enoch. It would be five generations before the family was able to legally put their copper pot–still technique to use.

The Kelso distillery was opened by Phil Prichard in 1997 and now produces 600 cases of spirits daily, including corn whiskey aged in white oak barrels. Located in an old school house complete with gym-turned-staging area and a tasting room in the old library, the distillery sees about 4,000 visitors a year.

"It is not geared for mass volume," says Terry Marshall, national sales manager. "We are handcrafted, and everything is done by hand. Even the labels are put on by hand."

Prichard's second location opened this spring on Barbara Mandrell's 136-acre Fontanel Mansion to help supplement production.

Visitors to this 300-acre farm and distillery can soak up Tennessee beauty while sippin' some 105-proof 'shine. Distillery president Billy Kaufman moved to the farm from California with the idea of practicing organic farming. But he was soon drawn into the local culture of moonshine.

"I realized all of the farmers in Cannon County were moonshiners, and they were all geared up to get me into it," Kaufman says. In fact, after the Civil War there were 18 legal distilleries in Cannon County until Prohibition shut them down.

Or so they thought. This is where Al Capone got his moonshine. "The water that feeds our moonshine is the same water that fed the shine for Capone's speakeasies," Kaufman says.

Kaufman was able to begin production after approval from a local vote. Its 105-proof moonshine is made from sugar cane and corn mash, and won the Gold Medal at the Beverage Testing Institute's International Review of Spirits Award.

This article is excerpted from USA TODAY Go Escape magazine, on newsstands now through Aug. 10. The publication contains articles on destinations throughout North America and the Caribbean.(Photo: Go Escape)

• Moonshine: Deeply rooted in outlaw distribution, moonshine got its name from the mountain men who perfected their craft by the light of the moon. Bottom line, if you don't pay taxes, it's 'shine.

• Tennessee Whiskey: Plenty of rules need to be followed to make true Tennessee Whiskey. The drink must be aged for two years in new, charred-oak barrels and made from a grain mixture of at least 51% corn. Oh, and it has to be made within the state, naturally.

• Lincoln County processing: Named after the county where Prichard's is located, this maple, charcoal filtration process is done before whiskey is placed in barrels for aging. Oddly enough, Lincoln County's Prichard's doesn't use this process, but nearby Jack Daniel's in Moore County does.